For most local businesses in India, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is your storefront: it decides whether you appear in the Map Pack when someone searches “café near me”, and whether the searcher picks you or the shop across the road. This is the 7-point audit we run at Refloat — you can do it manually in about an hour.
1. Reviews: rating, volume and momentum
Open your listing as a customer would. Three questions: Is your average rating at or above nearby competitors? Are new reviews arriving every week — not just a pile from two years ago? And are recent reviews trending positive? Google rewards fresh review activity, and customers discount old praise. If momentum is your gap, build a simple ask-for-review habit at billing, and answer every review you get — especially the negative ones.
2. Response rate: are you answering?
Scroll your reviews and count how many have owner replies. Under half is a visible neglect signal. Replies are free local-SEO engagement and the single clearest trust cue for a reader deciding between you and a competitor. Target: every review answered within 48 hours, in the reviewer's language.
3. Profile completeness
Every empty field is a question a customer can't answer. Check: description (with the words customers actually search), phone number, website link, service options (dine-in/delivery/appointment), attributes (parking, card payments, wheelchair access), and a menu or services list. Complete profiles convert measurably better and give Google more to match queries against.
4. Photos: coverage and freshness
Customers check photos before visiting. Audit for coverage (exterior — so people can find you; interior; products or dishes; team) and freshness (anything new in the last 90 days?). Blurry, dark or decade-old photos actively repel. A phone camera in daylight is enough — upload a few new shots monthly.
5. Hours and categories: the silent killers
Wrong hours are the fastest way to a one-star review (“came at 7, was closed”). Check regular hours, festival/holiday hours, and — critically — that your primary category is the most specific true description of your business (“South Indian restaurant”, not “Restaurant”). The primary category is one of the strongest ranking inputs in the local algorithm. And confirm your listing isn't flagged “temporarily closed” — it happens more often than you'd think, and it removes you from results entirely.
6. Posting activity
An active posts feed signals a live business to both Google and customers. Weekly is enough: an offer, a festival greeting with your products, a new item. If you already make social content, repurpose it — the same post ideas work on your profile.
7. Competitive position
Your listing doesn't exist in a vacuum. Search your main category + locality in an incognito window. Who's in the Map Pack top three? Compare their rating, review count, photo quality and posting cadence with yours. The audit isn't “is my profile good” — it's “is my profile better than the third-place listing”.
Scoring yourself
| Dimension | Healthy looks like |
|---|---|
| Reviews | ≥ local average rating, new reviews weekly, positive trend |
| Response rate | Every review answered within 48h |
| Completeness | No empty fields, keyword-aware description |
| Photos | All categories covered, new photos within 90 days |
| Hours & categories | Accurate hours incl. festivals, specific primary category |
| Posts | At least one post in the last 14 days |
| Competitive position | Rating and activity at or above the Map Pack top 3 |
Anything failing two or more dimensions is leaving customers on the table. Fix the critical errors first (closed flag, wrong hours, wrong category), then build the habits: replies, photos, posts.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I audit my Google Business Profile?
Do a full audit quarterly, and a quick check monthly. Listings drift constantly — photos age, holiday hours expire, competitors overtake your review velocity. Continuous monitoring tools like Refloat re-audit automatically and alert you when a dimension slips.
What is the most important factor in the audit?
Reviews — both rating and recency — carry the most weight for ranking and conversion. But the most damaging failures are basic ones: a wrong category, inaccurate hours, or a listing accidentally marked closed. Fix critical errors first, then build review momentum.
Do Google Posts actually matter?
They are a modest ranking signal but a strong conversion signal: an active posts feed makes your listing look alive and gives searchers a reason to choose you. Weekly posting — offers, festivals, new items — is the realistic cadence for a small business.
How many photos should my listing have?
There is no magic number, but listings with regularly added, high-quality photos see meaningfully more direction requests and calls. Aim for fresh photos monthly across categories: exterior, interior, products or food, team and menus. Stale photo sections quietly cost footfall.